Cons:

As a Boston Celtics fan, the wheels fell off of this season a while ago. The only saving grace so far has been the showing of Gerald Green at the Slam Dunk competition during All-Star Weekend. Conveniently, while my desire to play as my local five in sim-style 2K7 or Live tiffs has waned, Green's over the top -- and literally over Nate Robinson -- antics renewed my appetite for the gravity- and physics-defying action of the NBA Street series. And NBA Street Homecourt, EA's first trip back to the blacktop in two years and its first for the 360, doesn't disappoint. Longtime fans might be let down by the lack of play modes, but the tweaks and additions to the standard play should put a smile on many a wannabe baller's face.

There are a couple of things that Street vets will notice from the moment the disc gets sucked into their 360s. First off, there's the obvious graphics upgrade. The visuals are a little more photorealistic and a lot less cartoony than in past games. Framerate is generally smooth, although I did witness some occasional stuttering. The animations are a kick, from the the double- and triple-dunk (more about them later) to the perfectly timed alley-oops.

Once you get past the visuals, you'll need to get a hang of the game's new control scheme. For starters, the right stick has been all but phased out. Here it's used to pass the ball to a teammate while letting you keep control of the passer. If tricking with the thing has been hardwired into your thumbs by other games, you may screw up more than a few trips down the floor before you figure out the new lay of the land.

The nuts and bolts of the thing is still stringing together combos to fill up your Game Breaker meter. Once it's maxed out, the Earth's gravitational pull on your players becomes even less of a hindrance. I could have done without hearing Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and the breakdancing moves that replace just about any ball-handling moves that happen during a Game Breaker, but maybe that's just me.

But Game Breaker mode doesn't have a complete monopoly on Homecourt's most impressive moments. Perfect the timing of your dunk and your man will catch his own ball as it comes through the hoop and jam it back in for a second dunk. (During a Game Breaker, you can actually bang a triple-dunk.) Even cooler are the new jump-off dunks where your teammate will drop to the floor at the top of the key and let you launch off his back for the jam.

Helping you string together these combos is the new Trick Remixer. Using the X and Y buttons in combination with the shoulder buttons lets you seamlessly put together an almost limitless number of moves -- and once you get the feel for things, you'll hardly miss that right-stick functionality.